Background:

The inaugural formation of the EU BIM Task Group in January 2016 confirmed that Europe is now host to the greatest regional concentration of government-led BIM programmes in the world. Finland and Norway were the first to set standards, followed by procurement policies from the European Commission, the UK, Netherlands and Italy; and most recently joint government and industry initiatives from France, Germany and Spain.

In 2014, Enterprise Ireland hosted the first National BIM Forum to address the key enablers and barriers to a wider adoption of BIM in Ireland. In consideration of views expressed at the forum, and following a competitive tendering process, Enterprise Ireland has commissioned CitA under the new BIM Innovation Capability Programme (BICP) to undertake detailed research that will be targeted to accelerate the Irish construction sector’s adoption of digital processes and tools.

Another forum recommendation was to establish a national BIM steering council. A body that would co-create a roadmap to increase industry adoption within Ireland. The formation of the council is also a key measure in fulfilling Enterprise Ireland’s obligations under the Construction 2020 strategy. In particular, to “Work with industry organisations to promote the use of BIM and develop the appropriate technical skills amongst Irish construction firms so that they can successfully compete in markets where BIM is widely adopted or a requirement.”

An aspiration of this committee is that we capture what has been done elsewhere not simply to
‘catch up’ but to leverage the learnings to become recognised ‘collaborators and innovators’ in the sector.